Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.” After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
My sermon from Maundy Thursday (April 6, 2023) on John 13:1-17, 31b-35.
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Earlier today I did something I don’t usually do: I went to a podiatrist. I have an ongoing issue that isn’t serious but does require some monthly treatments. As I was leaving last months’ visit, the receptionist at the doctor’s office wondered if I could come in next on April 6. That date sounded familiar to me but I didn’t have anything written down on my calendar. I made the appointment, went about my life, and it was only a few days later when I realized what I had done. On a night when feet are all over our reading from the gospel according to John, I was going to spend that morning having one of my poked and prodded by a doctor. The visit was… fine and I spent the rest of the day with only a tiny bit of pain while I prepared the sanctuary for worship. The discomfort from this morning’s treatment lingers but I am grateful I live in a place where access to medical care – using my wife’s health insurance – is readily accessible. By taking care of what holds me up, I’m able to pray, preach, wash, and serve. My feet working the way they do is not the limit of what ministry looks like since Jesus chooses all kinds of people with all kinds of bodies and with all kinds of abilities to further the kingdom of God. But I do think, though, that Jesus wants us to pay attention to what holds us up because that’s how we get through whatever comes next.
Now one of the details that brings this idea out is something I hadn’t really noticed before. In the past, my attention has been focused on either Jesus’ actions or Peter’s reaction. Jesus, in the middle of a dinner, stood up, took off his outer robe, tied a towel around his waist, and then poured water into a basin. We can almost imagine the disciples sort of wondering what exactly Jesus was up to. The more Jesus went through the motions, the more the disciples could tell what he was doing because, right before dinner, their feet had already been washed. The streets in ancient Jerusalem were a bit of a mess since mechanical street sweepers, indoor plumbing, and regular garbage collection wasn’t a real thing. Apartments within the city were small and cramped which meant people spent most of their lives outside. Everything that ended up on the street would end up on people’s feet. And it was considered a basic act of hospitality to help guests leave what’s outside – outside when they entered someone’s home. People could wash their feet by themselves but it was considered more respectful to have someone in your household do that for every guest who walked through your doors. This gross task required a person to physically kneel at someone else’s feet which could be a problem in a world with clear definitions of who was, and who wasn’t, your social better. If a teacher, leader, influencer, or someone with a lot of money suddenly found themselves washing the feet of a student, a woman, someone enslaved or who was poor – the shame for both the washer and the washee would reverberate throughout their social circles. To avoid such a social faux pas, only the lowest of the lows in the household would wash people’s feet. The person who knelt before was supposed to be someone who you would never kneel to. Jesus, though, did exactly that which is why Peter’s reaction is completely understandable. Peter cried out because Jesus, who could literally walk on water, was acting as if he was nothing. Jesus gave up the honor he was given to spread water on the feet of those who were beneath him. That, on its own, was pretty shocking but that wasn’t the only reason Peter tried to change what Jesus was doing into a kind of baptism. Jesus wasn’t simply degrading himself; he also was implying that those following Jesus were worth more than Jesus himself. Jesus’ actions changed Peter from merely being a disciple into something more. Jesus took on the identity of the poor, the enslaved, the women, and the ones who were always at the bottom of the heap – to raise his disciples up and act like they were more than him. If Jesus had simply told the disciples to wash each other’s feet, Peter would have had no problem since they were all on the same social level. But on the night when he was handed over to the Roman authorities, Jesus showed these disciples that they would be more than they could ever imagine themselves to be.
So with all that going on, you’d expect for the other disciples to speak up. Yet we have no idea what Andrew, Thomas, Philip, or even Judas thought when Jesus knelt at their feet. It’s possible each one behaved like Peter, completely freaking out when their teacher served them. But there’s enough space within the story to imagine that they didn’t. Maybe some were completely grossed out since they didn’t want their feet touched while they were eating. Maybe some of them sort of understood what Jesus was getting or weren’t really paying attention since they had a secret that was about to be revealed. We often make Jesus and Peter the foreground of this story but the other disciples, including Judas, were right there too. The feet washing, the feeding, and the blessing also included them because Jesus knew what was about to come next. After the washing, Judas would leave and their sense of community would come undone. Every one of their thoughts, expectations, and dreams about the future would soon be nailed to a Cross. The disciples believed they knew what held them up but that was going to completely fall apart. Jesus wanted the disciples – every disciple – to know that something else, something more, would bring them through. It wasn’t their faithfulness or strength or wealth or all the social accolades in the world that would lead them through what was going to come next. Rather, through it all, the One who claimed them as His own, would be there – because they, through baptism and faith, would be part of the body of Christ, forever. They were already more than who they could ever imagine themselves to be because the God of the universe chose them to serve and kneel at the feet of their friends. Through the love they shared with one another, they would be carried through. And when every Cross came their way, Jesus would be there to show them what love will do.
Amen.